Greater than Resistance
by Merry Faerie
Summary: Zane and Ami's love connection is close to short-circuiting due to a pesky med school entrance test called the MCAT. Frustration, failed interventions, and desires for sexy times make appearances. Written for Shitennou Ficathon Challenge 2011. Ami/Zoi


_This story was originally written for the 2011 Shitennou Ficathon. The challenge was to write a story inspired by a literary quote. Life (and the MCAT, bleh) took over last year, though, preventing me from submitting the fic in a timely fashion. It was fun to write, though, so I thought I'd share it with my lovely readers. Enjoy! _

_Dedicated to the MCAT: Fuck you._

* * *

"I can resist anything except temptation."

_-Lady Windermere's Fan, _Oscar Wilde

* * *

** Resistance: Part One**

Resistance. Resistance is equal to potential divided by current. But the resistance of a circuit, we must remember, is decreasedin resistors in parallel.

"So does that mean you won't be able to resist me if you and I...lie parallel?"

Ami turned to the next batch of neatly organized notes that she had stacked on her desk. Without glancing at her boyfriend, she responded: "Is that the best pun you've got?"

Zane had appeared in her apartment uninvited as usual-which, she thought with a sigh, served her right for gifting the grinning blonde with a key, little knowing the havoc that would come with THAT gesture of commitment and love. What with having to deal with Zane's toothbrush and boxers strewn about the place (in some bizarre corners, she had to say), his moving the spices in the spice cabinet out of alphabetical order, and constant demands in that light British accent of his that she revel in the awesomeness that was her whirlpool tub with him, she was starting to seriously consider confiscating that little key of his.

Zane promptly plopped himself onto her bed, also without invitation, and propped his head up with one hand so as to study her—albeit in some frustration. He loved her, he really did, so much even feel of the tips of her fingers could make him shiver**.** But he had needs, just like every other human being. Every _male_ human being especially. And besides food, shelter, and large quantities of beer he, probably more than most other boyfriends, needed attention. And sex, if he was going to be honest. Neither of which he'd gotten since Ami had started studying for THE bane of his existence (surpassing even those fishnet-type tops, yuck)-that damned MCAT.

And the longer he regarded her profile, face bent over a sheaf of papers on circuits and charges and other stuff no doctor actually has to know, the more inclined he was to send all those papers fluttering to the floor so he could lift her onto the desk, cradle that soft face of hers and...well by that time she'd probably be scolding him for making a terrible mess of her physics notes, romantic that she was. He knew this, since he'd tried such a gesture a couple of weeks ago. E and M took precedence over S & M now, and he wasn't sure how long he could take it.

"Ami, remember what it looks like _outside_? Do you even remember what season it is?"

"Spring. Which means wind pollination. Wind overtook water as the primary vector for pollen 400 million years ago, according to one of the passages on my last practice test. Isn't that interesting?"

"Oh yeah-as interesting as my toes."

"Zane," Ami admonished, though only-half-heartedly since she was more preoccupied with capacitance's relation to charge than she was with Zane's toe references.

"Wait..nope, pretty sure my toes are way more interesting than that."

"I don't want to discuss phalanges-"

"What the fu-?"

"The skeletal system isn't high-yield material on the MCAT."

"Um...hallo in there?" He promptly knocked on her skull. "Am I dating a robot? It's like the terminator in here, except I think that that guy likes humanity more than you do right now, Ames!"

He knew it was an important test, and of course he wanted Ami to do well, but here's the thing: she would do well even if she did NO studying. The one time he'd said that though, by the look she'd given him, you'd think he'd suggested she go take a swim with a shark in a 1 meter cubed fish tank.

So he tried to bite his tongue on the subject, but God help him, his tongue (and other parts of his body) was really starting to ache...

"Zane...are you bored?" He blinked-she was not that dense. "If you are, you could just go hang out with your friends."

"Well, you are my friend," Zane said sincerely and if she didn't have her whole face wedged in her book she probably would have smiled at that. "Though to be honest, I'd like a little less friend and a little more friendly from you, if you know what I mean." _And we're back_- "Plus, we never hang out or DO anything anymore, Ames!"

"It's tough, I know," she recited. "But what my MCAT prep books basically advise is for you to look forward to whatever pleasurable activity you're going to pursue _after_ the MCAT. Like a vacation, maybe a nice movie...you should use that as your incentive for getting through this."

"Yes fine, but I'm not the one taking the MCAT! You are!"

"The beta of your sound level just increased to the power of 10, Zane."

"Ohmygod Ami, I am going to kick your cute butt with the power of 10 if you don't-"

"Power of 10 what? Watts? That's not possible."

"BLGRHGH!" Throwing his hands up in dramatic frustration, Zane stormed out of the room and moments later she heard his petulant banging of the apartment door as well.

Ami allowed herself a little shrug before returning to a review of the nervous system. Hmm, maybe this chapter could help her diagnose Zane's condition.

* * *

Little did she know that Zane himself was trying to understand Ami's own psychological problems.

"Seriously, Jed, I think she's actually gone mental!"

Jed could only offer a sympathetic shake of the head after slurping Coke out of his glass. "It was bound to happen some time," he pointed out reasonably. "Have you _seen_ her average reading load for a week?"

"Yeah-it's bigger than your yearly one."

"True dat."

Zane swiped a rogue coppery curl out of his face, a mixture of frustration and defeat in his expression. "I just feel like we're so disconnected from each other now. Didn't you tell me once that Ami and I were meant to be?"

"Mm, nope, don't think so. Maybe I was saying 'meant to beat.' "

"That makes no sense."

"Your accent makes no sense."

"Alright, why d'you always go for the accent when you have nothing intelligent to say? That is, every five minutes?"

"Weak prey, you are."

There was a thoughtful silence (on Zane's part at least-Jed had moved on to occupying himself by making a straw caterpillar).

Since meeting in high school, the two of them had seen their share of girls and relationships (though truth be told, Jed had seen more like two or three shares). Zane had been the impulsive one, tumbling into love over the science lab test tubes or in acting class, and seeing a few heartbreaks along the way. He had launched himself into his studies just as passionately, though, which found him at one of the top universities in the country, and four years later, poring over Tennyson and Bronte in his first year of grad school.

Along the way, Ami had happened. It was the library that brought them together, of course. Since her days as a college freshman, Ami always sat at a table near the large print section and gradually, subtly, day by day, he began to migrate from nonfiction to that very same corner. And then there was nothing for it but to study together, since he was in dire need of that Biochemistry textbook as well, wouldn't you know it. Lucky for him, she was already shyly falling into his admittedly sweet charm when she realized that he had never even been enrolled in the class (and couldn't even distinguish between alpha- and beta- glucose!).

Zane had it bad, Jed knew after the first week of study sessions. Not that he was really one to talk, Nevan, that damned know-it-all, would point out. To which Jed requested that he keep his big nose out of it.

"You know," Zane interrupted the quiet with a clearing of his throat, "Ami and I haven't...ahem in a very long time."

"Haven't wha-oh. That. Um Zane, you forget that I used to be your suitemate and had to share a very thin wall with you. A very long time for you is like...a very, very long time for me. Which is like...a day."

"I mean it! It's been..mmfdmm...weeks."

"Say what?"

Zane repeated the number so quietly Jed had to strain to hear it. Once he had, though, the straw fell clean out of his mouth.

"Damn." A pause. "How are you alive?"

He was giving Zane a poke in the arm to ensure that he was indeed alive when the appearance of a raven-haired woman snagged his attention.

"Well, fancy seeing you here," she said teasingly, though not two feet from where Jed currently sat he had first tried to pick her up—only to have her unceremoniously pour her rice pudding into his lap.

"Well, fancy trying to avoid me only to see me...here."

"What?"

"I dunno. I missed ya," he informed her, squeezing her hand in his an rather sweet gesture for the one-time playboy.

_Seven days since I last held Ami's hand, _Zane sighed internally.

Rei smiled in spite of herself and sat beside Jed, leaning into him as he whispered something else into her ear.

_Two weeks since Ami let me whisper something remotely romantic in her ear._

God he was such a nerd, but it was all he could do to keep himself from algorithmizing everything in his life sometimes.

Before Rei (and Zane) knew it, Jed had tugged her down towards him for a kiss, and she gave in with little hesitation.

_34 days since I last kissed Ami. _

Jesus...how the bloody hell _was_ he alive? He would probably need an ER very,very soon.

As Jed gave Rei one last peck on the cheek, Zane made a sound very like that of a baby elephant. "Oh for heaven's sake, get a room!"

In answer to Rei's open-mouthed expression, Jed shook his head.

"Don't mind him. He's sensitive."

* * *

_Part Two is coming to a webpage near you soon. Reviews are heartily welcomed (and handed a beer, too, if they're lucky). _


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